2012-13 Charlotte Bobcats preview

Associated Press Bobcats head coach Mike Dunlap calls a time late in a preseason game against Dallas on Oct. 26 in Dallas. The Mavericks defeated the Bobcats 99-82.

By Richard Walker

Published: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 at 03:59 PM.

CHARLOTTE – Only time will tell whether or not Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan and his management team made the right call in tapping Mike Dunlap to become his franchise’s newest head coach.

But Dunlap, the first coach in NBA history to be hired after being a college assistant coach, is confident he’ll change the team’s culture after Charlotte had the worst record in NBA history a year ago.

And Dunlap hopes that his teaching methods of praising the positive and trying to improve the negative can fulfill his own high expectations as the Bobcats prepare to open the 2012-13 season Friday at 7 p.m. at home against the Indiana Pacers.

“I’ve never met a player that didn’t want to please a coach,” Dunlap said. “I just haven’t met that player. But a lot of times there are other issues that get in the way of consistency of the effort over time.

“As a coach, you have to take responsibility just like a teacher would with their pupils. If everybody in the classroom is getting F’s, that’s not a good exam. I look for effort that’s highlighted with what they’re doing right. I don’t look for what they’re doing wrong.”

For Dunlap, that began with a 4-1 record during July’s Las Vegas Summer League play and continued through the recently completed 1-7 preseason. Over the course of both schedules, Dunlap was as diligent about switching lineups in order to see how certain groups played with one another while teaching his strategies as he was to pursuing victories.

That’ll all change Friday because the win-loss record will finally be for real for Dunlap and his team.

CHARLOTTE – Only time will tell whether or not Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan and his management team made the right call in tapping Mike Dunlap to become his franchise’s newest head coach.

But Dunlap, the first coach in NBA history to be hired after being a college assistant coach, is confident he’ll change the team’s culture after Charlotte had the worst record in NBA history a year ago.

And Dunlap hopes that his teaching methods of praising the positive and trying to improve the negative can fulfill his own high expectations as the Bobcats prepare to open the 2012-13 season Friday at 7 p.m. at home against the Indiana Pacers.

“I’ve never met a player that didn’t want to please a coach,” Dunlap said. “I just haven’t met that player. But a lot of times there are other issues that get in the way of consistency of the effort over time.

“As a coach, you have to take responsibility just like a teacher would with their pupils. If everybody in the classroom is getting F’s, that’s not a good exam. I look for effort that’s highlighted with what they’re doing right. I don’t look for what they’re doing wrong.”

For Dunlap, that began with a 4-1 record during July’s Las Vegas Summer League play and continued through the recently completed 1-7 preseason. Over the course of both schedules, Dunlap was as diligent about switching lineups in order to see how certain groups played with one another while teaching his strategies as he was to pursuing victories.

That’ll all change Friday because the win-loss record will finally be for real for Dunlap and his team.

“Absolutely we have the talent to be competitive,” Dunlap said of a franchise that has had only one winning record in its previous eight seasons. “But we have to be competitive in a way that we’re a hard (team to) scout.”

With a franchise-record 23-game losing streak hanging over the team, will that be possible?

“It’s a new season for us,” said fourth-year guard Gerald Henderson, the team’s leading scorer a year ago. “That last year was a tough thing. It’s something that you try to forget about. It’ll always be there, but it’s a new start, a new coach, some new guys…. So it’s something that happened but we’re going to look forward to a new season and what we can accomplish.”

There’s little doubting Henderson’s words.

In truth, the addition of veteran players like guards Ramon Sessions and Ben Gordon and center Brendan Haywood should help younger players like Henderson, guard Kemba Walker, center Bismack Biyombo and rookie forwards Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Jeff Taylor develop without the heavy burden they often endured last season.

“I’m on the hunt for what they’re doing right,” Dunlap said. “I tell them. Then I say ‘You need to adjust here.’ And then we go on to a drill that has time and score involved with it.”

Dunlap also knows that he’ll have to win over his players, perhaps because he was picked over more experienced competition like former Orlando Magic assistant Patrick Ewing, former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan, former Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan and Indiana Pacers assistant coach Brian Shaw among others.

It’s something Dunlap started working on the day he was hired last summer.

“Our communication has been ongoing since the 22nd of June,” Dunlap said. “The key has been getting in touch with all the players and ask them good questions and letting them talk about role declaration and a myriad of things. I think they feel pretty good about that.

“But I also think there’s trepidation and anxiety because there’s a new coach and a new staff and you have five new players. So we have some variables that make it exciting for our team.”

Richard Walker: 704-869-1841; twitter.com/JRWalk22

Worst records

The worst records in NBA history, by percentage:

2012 Charlotte Bobcats 7-59 .106

1973 Philadelphia 76ers 9-73 .110

1948 Providence Steam Rollers 6-42 .125

1993 Dallas Mavericks 11-71 .134

1998 Denver Nuggets 11-71 .134

1987 Los Angeles Clippers 12-70 .146

2010 New Jersey Nets 12-70 .146

1999 Vancouver Grizzlies 8-42 .160

1950 Denver Nuggets 11-51 .177

1999 Los Angeles Clippers 9-41 .180

Losing streaks

The longest in NBA history:

26 Cleveland Cavaliers (2010-11)

24 Cleveland Cavaliers (1981-82 through 1982-83)

23 Vancouver Grizzlies (1995-96)

23 Denver Nuggets (1997-98)

x-23 Charlotte Bobcats (2011-12)

21 Detroit Pistons (1979-80 through 1980-81)

x-active entering the 2012-13 season

2012-13 Bobcats roster

No. 0 Bismack Biyombo

6-9, 245, 2nd year (Congo)

Comment: After gaining experience as rookie, new staff hopes to hone his talents

No. 2 DeSagana Diop

7-0, 280, 12th year (Oak Hill, Va., Academy)

Comment: After lost season a year ago, team hopeful Diop can be a serviceable backup center

No. 7 Ramon Sessions

6-3, 190, 6th year (Nevada-Reno)

Comment: Myrtle Beach, S.C., happy to have homecoming and will be a valued backcourt player

No. 8 Ben Gordon

6-3, 200, 9th year (Connecticut)

Comment: Dunlap has established Gordon can be a lethal late-game scorer for this team

No. 9 Gerald Henderson

6-5, 215, 4th year (Duke)

Comment: Was team’s leading scorer a year ago and the franchise is hopefully he can continue to improve

No. 11 Cory Higgins

6-5, 180, 2nd year (Colorado)

Comment: With Dunlap using Walker and Sessions together, his value as a backup point guard will be huge

No. 12 Tyrus Thomas

6-10, 225, 7th year (LSU)

Comment: Some thought he might be released in offseason, but added weight could make him top frontcourt reserve

No. 13 Matt Carroll

6-6, 212, 10th year (Notre Dame)

Comment: Veteran sharpshooter may not play much, but will be expected to be a locker room leader

No. 14 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

6-7, 232, 1st year (Kentucky)

Comment: No. 2 overall pick will likely struggle some, but is considered huge part of the team’s future

No. 15 Kemba Walker

6-1, 184, 2nd year (Connecticut)

Comment: Summer league experience at point guard appears to be paying dividends as conversion to point guard continues

No. 22 Byron Mullens

7-0, 275, 4th year (Ohio State)

Comment: Could be considered the start of the offseason and preseason workouts. Like Silas, Dunlap encourages his long-range shooting.

No. 33 Brendan Haywood

7-0, 263, 12th year (North Carolina)

Comment: His release by Dallas cleared path for his North Carolina homecoming, where he’ll be team’s starting center

No. 44 Jeff Taylor

6-7, 225, 1st year (Vanderbilt)

Comment: Considered a steal in the 2nd round of recent draft, Taylor will vie for minutes at crowded wing position

No. 55 Reggie Williams

6-6, 205, 4th year (VMI)

Comment: Slowed by injury a year ago, Williams could be a top reserve off the bench for the Bobcats

5 Questions for the 2011-12 Bobcats:

… What is the goal in terms of wins and losses for this team?

After a historic-worst 7-59 record last season, simply learning to win at all is a must. But 20 wins is probably about the over/under betting line most feel is realistic.

… How will athletic rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist do in his first season?

Some thought the Bobcats were picking the athletic swingman too high with the No. 2 overall pick a year ago. It’s quite possible Kidd-Gilchrist will struggle as a 19-year-old rookie, but Dunlap thinks his defensive possibilities are endless – from playing against off-guards, small forwards and power forwards – because of energy and athleticism.

… Can Gerald Henderson turn into an All-Star player?

Having seen another Gerald (Wallace) do so to become the franchise’s only All-Star in history certainly gives Henderson hope for doing the same. The key will be if Henderson can develop into a standout on both offense and defense for a team that relies so heavily on him.

Once one of the top late-game scorers in the NBA with Chicago, Gordon found the riches of free agency in Detroit – and that team’s lack of success – to be a daunting challenge. Can Charlotte be a career rebirth?

… Does Brendan Haywood have anything left?

After being released from his contract with the Dallas Mavericks through the league’s “amnesty clause,” some worry the 12th-year veteran’s best days are behind him. While that may be so, his presence on a defense that was woefully inexperienced and, at times, under-talented in the past has to be considered a positive.